Rubble
by offtheupright
Summary: Their latest escapade leaves Carmelita and Sly's relationship in tatters, but something better will always come out of the ashes...


Only when the night air fell still and cool again did Carmelita stop running. She wavered on her feet for a moment, then collapsed into a heap on the grass. Breath poured from her lips in thick, burning clouds, fingertips twitching as the adrenaline coursed through her veins. She rolled onto her back and stared up into the clear night, stars twinkling at her in full bloom. Calm. It felt so alien to her right now.

She took a few minutes to compose herself, then dared to sit up and look back at where she had come from. It was somehow worse than she had expected. From this hilltop she could see it all: the searchlights fanning the air, the guards desperately patrolling the streets, and in the midst of it all the rubble of the building, still spitting dust into the air. Still surrounded by ambulances. A lump lodged in her throat and she turned away before the sight could get to her.

She climbed to her feet and paced further away from the wreckage, but only managed a few steps before her trembling legs demanded she go no further. Now that the adrenaline had slowed down she felt weak, weaker than she had ever felt before, and would likely have fallen down again had it not been for the voice from the treetops.

"Hey, you're faster than I give you credit for."

Her head jerked upwards, and her heart started pounding again, though with what she wasn't sure.

"Cooper," she said in an equally ambiguous voice. She watched as he picked his way along the branches towards her, the swagger of his signature strut making her stomach churn. Out of instinct her hand fell on the blaster hanging from her belt, but she didn't lift it. For whatever reason it didn't feel right at this moment in time.

"That's me," he said, "And I'm chasing you for once. Never thought I'd see you running from the scene of a crime faster than me."

She grit her teeth. Now she knew what that emotion she felt was.

"Then again," he added cheekily, "I guess the person who commits the crime is always the fastest away."

A fuse blew in her head. She whipped out the blaster and fired it at him. He leapt to safety and she followed his arc, rapidly pulling the trigger to send a trail of bolts tailing after him. He jumped from surface to surface to avoid her blasts, but no matter where he went she followed with a relentless volley of shots until the trigger of her weapon finally clicked in surrender.

Smoke dusted the air, but as it faded away she was dismayed to see Sly standing in front of her unscathed, arms crossed and wearing his usual grin.

"Have I upset you, Officer Fox?"

Carmelita scowled. She cast her gun to one side and balled her hands into fists.

"You know damn well you've upset me, Sly, you lowlife!"

"What have I done? As far as I'm aware everything that's just happened was your own doing."

Another fuse popped in her head. Over his shoulder she could see the wreckage and the pandemonium around it, and in front of it was his grinning, unapologetic face. Her throat tightened.

"Don't you even dare," she hissed at him.

"Dare what?"

"Dare play this game with me, Ringtail. I am not in the mood, and you're wrong anyway. If you weren't there being your usual thieving self there'd have been no support beam for me to accidentally shoot, and the fact you're trying to turn this around on me just goes to prove how much of a slimy little rodent you are!"

His eyes lit up. "You know I love it when you get all passionate towards me."

"I said I am not in the mood!" she screeched.

"Oh, I understand. It must be tough being a bigger criminal than me for a change. I mean, say what you will about me but I've never caused a building to collapse on innocent people before."

Carmelita froze. She stared at Sly with cold, vacant eyes for a few moments, then whirled around and shuffled away from him.

The gesture wiped the grin clean from Sly's face. That was…different, and not in a good way. Winding her up only ever drew one reaction out of her, and that was incandescent rage. Not turning her back, shrivelling on the spot like a dead flower and emitting a coldness that made his fur stand on end.

"Carm?" he said, but she refused to acknowledge him. He played back in his mind the last few sentences they'd exchanged, and his pupils shrunk. Had he really said that? Really mocked her for apparently causing a great deal of harm to people? That crossed the line. That was beneath him, but he was so used to teasing her he'd let his tongue rule over his head.

He scowled in disgust at himself, pressing his finger into the point of his cane until it stung, as if to punish himself for being so stupid. He deserved it – this was the stupidest thing he had done in a long time, if not ever. But at least he had a chance to put it right here and now.

He slowly crept towards her, taking care not to move too fast nor too quietly.

"Carm?" he said again. His voice had dropped to a whisper, though he hadn't expected it to. Her back straightened, but her head didn't so much as twitch towards him.

"I hate you so much," she whispered.

A dagger of ice cut through Sly's heart. She'd heard her say that plenty, but never in a voice as severe as that. Her devilish scream was music to his ears, but a low spit of venom? That hurt.

"You haven't really hurt anyone, I swear. I was just messing with you…"

He placed a hand on her shoulder, and in a flash Carmelita spun around and slapped him hard in the face.

"I hate you!" she roared. She grabbed the still-reeling Sly by his collar and hit him again, hard enough to strain the sinews in her shoulder. "I hate you so damn much, Cooper!"

Sly staggered out of her reach and looked back at her dumbstruck. Her eyes were narrowed and her teeth bared as per usual, but the pure hatred emanating from them was more potent than ever.

"I hate you!" she screamed again, "All you ever do is mess with me! Every time I get sent to guard or monitor something you come along and steal it. Why? Half of the stuff I'm assigned to isn't even that valuable: tonight you were trying to steal from a small bank. I can give you a list of more lucrative banks on that street, let alone in the rest of the city! You only went there because I was there, and after I screwed up you followed me out here just to rub it in."

The anger on her face softened a little, and her eyes began to glisten.

"Why?" she said helplessly, "Why do you keep doing this? I chase you for a reason, but you chasing after me? Are you trying to undermine me? Get me demoted or fired? Is that what you want?"

"Carm…"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear another word from you ever again! Everything you ever say to me is just some taunt or sneer to try and lead me along or humiliate me. Why should I expect you to give me a serious answer when everything's just fun and games to you? Just go away and leave me alone – I'll ask Interpol to put someone else on your case. I'm sick to death of you, and I don't want to see you and your cruel snark ever again."

She turned away again. Her spine hunched over and her head drooped forwards. No sobs came from her, but from her posture alone it was obvious that she was close to tears. Sly rubbed his throbbing cheek, sending stings of pain through his face, but they paled in comparison to the knot in his throat. She was right – he did follow her and tease her and mess with her plans, and he had never given an explanation for any of it. And for that he'd hurt her. To him it was all just teasing and flirting, but to her? It was harassment and humiliation. She didn't know what he knew, she just knew that he was intruding on her life to make it difficult. And why didn't she know?

"I'm a kid," he whispered to himself, "I'm a big kid."

He stared darkly at his feet for a moment, then lifted his head and swallowed the lump in his throat. It was long overdue, but better late than never.

"Carmelita?"

"Go away," she demanded, in a cracked voice that made his chest tighten.

"Carm…"

"I said go! I'm not interested in any apology, I know it's not real. You don't have anything sincere to say to me."

"Can I make a sincere gesture instead then?"

Carmelita slowly turned around, her piercing eyes leading the way.

"There is absolutely nothing you can do to prove to me that you are anything other than…"

She was cut off by Sly kissing her on the lips. It only lasted a few moments, but it froze her long enough for him to grab her waist and pull her into a tight hug. She rested on his shoulders as a solid block of ice, but the longer he held her the more she melted into his grip.

"C-C-Cooper?" she said, bewildered.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, gently rubbing her back.

"W-What?"

"For being a little kid. I'm sorry for being too much of a coward to be honest with you and instead just being a jerk."

He took a moment to compose himself, then looked her in the eye,

"Carmelita, I follow you around and flirt with you because I mean it. I enjoy winding you up, but the reason I make detours to do it is because I want to see you. I love being around you and talking to you, even if all we do is trade insults. I like you a lot, but I guess I've never really known how to express that properly, especially to someone who wants to lock me away for all eternity."

He gave a small laugh, and Carmelita smirked a little too. He gently rocked her from side to side, and to his relief she didn't resist it.

"I'm sorry I went too far," he said, "If it's any consolation, I was lying. I stayed behind after the building collapsed. No one's died or even badly hurt – there was only one other person in there with us and they were able to limp out of their own accord. All the ambulances were just a precaution. I'm so, so sorry I messed with you about that. I didn't realise it would hurt you as much as it did, and now that it's happened I realise it was a stupid, insensitive thing to say, but like I said: I'm a little kid. The only way I can think to talk to girls is to insult them."

Carmelita chuckled. She visibly relaxed in his arms, curling her own around Sly's back as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

"You really know how to complicate things, don't you Ringtail?" she said. Her voice was still subdued, but much closer to normal, "On the one hand I have to deal with a rampant thief who needs to face justice, but on the other you're too cute to spend your life with all those thugs behind bars."

She hugged him tightly, and the tension in Sly's shoulders eased.

"So am I forgiven?"

"For the countless thefts you've committed over the years? No."

"But for upsetting you?"

"You're off the hook." She sighed, "For what it's worth, Sly, I don't think you're a bad person. I think you have a good heart and at times you're really sweet, you're just…"

"A thieving rat?"

"Yeah," she laughed.

"Well, I'd be more than happy to explain my position to you, perhaps over dinner sometime?"

Carmelita snorted.

"So all it took was one whole sentence of 'I don't hate you' for you to make a move on me?"

"Hey, you complained I'm all smoke and mirrors, and I've wanted a date with you since the first time we met. I'm just acting my age and being upfront about how I feel."

"Well thank you for that. As for your little plan, I don't think it could…"

"Please?" he wheedled, fluttering his eyelashes. Carmelita laughed.

"Even when you're being nice you make things hard for me. Okay, I'll think about it. I'm not committing to anything, nor will my acceptance mean I will stop trying to apprehend you, but I will think about it."

Sly beamed. "That's all I need."

They held their hug for a bit longer before they finally let each other go, but their eyes and faint smiles remained locked for a long time after.

"Just so you know," Sly said, tilting his head towards the rubble behind him, "I'll take responsibility for that little mishap."

"I appreciate it. I ought to get back down there anyway – the rest of the force are probably wondering where I am."

"Understandable. I think I'd better get back to my own team as well, they're probably worried you've caught me. To be fair they wouldn't be wrong – you've had my heart under lock and key for a long time now."

"And there's the flirting again," she said with a roll of her eyes, "Get out of here, thief, before I change my mind about thinking you're too cute to be locked up."

"Your wish is my command."

He drew back his leg to run, but stole one last look at her before he moved. An earnest look, coupled with a faithful smile beneath it. No words were spoken, but it told Carmelita what he was saying clearly enough. She returned his smile without hesitation.

He bolted forward and was gone within a blink, leaving her alone with nothing but the wake of his speed. It rustled her hair, and drew a smile on her lips.

"You're the scum of the earth, Ringtail, but you're pretty charming when you want to be."

She made her way back towards the town, but stopped after a few steps when she felt something unfamiliar in her back pocket. Confused, she reached inside and pulled out one of Sly's calling cards, neatly folded down the middle, which she opened to find some text written on the back.

 _If we do go out I recommend wearing that black dress you wore in India again – you look stunning in it._

 _Sly_

She sighed and shook her head. She clenched her fist to crumple it into a ball, but instead of casting it away into the night shoved it straight back into her pocket.

* * *

 **Look who's back! Been working alot on my own projects as of late, so it's taken me away from this fic lark. If I've got it right this is my first work in 6mths and only my second of the year (if you count Not Ready as all one thing, and while Metro Station was published in 2017 I wrote it in 2016). My production's slowed right down over the years. Don't think there's one concrete reason for it, rather a load of them. Regardless, it's nice to be back.**

 **As for this little drabble: I think it's alright. A little rushed, maybe, but alright for short form, I think. I just wanted to get some Sly x Carmelita fluff into the world, and also portray Sly as something other than an insensitive dick for a change. XD I'm not gonna lie, I think Sly's a dick: claims he only steals from other thieves because there's no fun in robbing randos, yet in cutscenes you see him stealing from random merchants; spends three entire games doting on his father's words yet insists 'what does what he did have to do with me? I'm just me' when confronted with the very real fact his father was a dick to his crew. And, of course, lying to Carmelita from start to finish. Turns out being the protagonist of a game and being vaguely charming does a lot for your popularity though. XD  
**

 **Oh well, enjoy this. May be a while before I'm back, after all. XD**


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